An Oslo court on Monday sentenced Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son to four years in prison on two counts of rape and other offences, in a high-profile scandal that has rocked the monarchy.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship prior to her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, was accused of 40 charges, from rape to traffic violations, carrying a maximum possible sentence of 16 years in prison.
One of the rapes for which he was convicted took place at the crown prince couple’s official residence in 2018.
Høiby, who is not formally part of the royal household and has no steady job, was acquitted of two other counts of rape, and convicted of repeated domestic abuse against an ex-girlfriend, traffic violations, issuing threats and other offences.
The prosecution had asked for a seven-year jail term.
Høiby had denied the most serious allegations, including the rape charges which the prosecution said took place while the women were asleep or unconscious, and the domestic abuse charge.
His defence team had called for him to serve 18 months for the other charges to which he pleaded guilty, including transporting 3.5 kilos of marijuana, physical assaults and threats.
Høiby, who has been in custody since 1 February, was not present in court on Monday for unspecified medical reasons, but appeared by video link.
The only rape victim present in the courtroom shed tears when the judge read out a guilty verdict in her case.
Life of excess
The trial, held between 3 February and 19 March, laid bare the life of excess lived by Høiby, who was thrust into the public eye at the age of three when his mother’s romance with the crown prince began.
“I’m mostly known as my mother’s son, not anything else. So I’ve had an extreme need for recognition my whole life,” he told the court.
“And that manifested itself in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs and a lot of alcohol,” he said.
The rapes of which he was accused, including one said to have taken place at the royal couple’s residence, occurred between 2018 and 2024, after nights of partying during which Høiby said he had used alcohol and drugs.
Prosecutors argued the cases involved consensual sex that was later followed by sexual acts when the women appeared to be asleep or passed out, and therefore unable to consent.
Much of the legal arguments during the proceedings centred on the women’s level of awareness, and what Høiby would have been able to perceive at the time.
In his final arguments, prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo described Høiby as a man “who thinks he can do whatever he wants”.
Despite his confused explanations and memory lapses, Høiby repeatedly insisted that he was “not in the habit of having sex with women who are asleep.”
He also criticised the pressure put on him by the media, which he said painted him as “a monster” and made him “the hate target of all of Norway.”
‘Reign of terror’
The scandal erupted on 4 August 2024, when police arrested Høiby on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend in her Oslo apartment the previous night.
The media published photos of a knife stuck in the wall and a shattered chandelier on the floor.
One of his former partners, influencer Nora Haukland, then came forward and said he had also subjected her to physical and psychological abuse, described by prosecutors as a “reign of terror.”
During the trial, Høiby acknowledged that jealousy sometimes made him lose control.
The women themselves did not file rape charges against Høiby.
Instead, police investigating the August 2024 incident discovered videos on his phones and computers which they said constituted rapes and contacted the women, who were unaware of the events depicted.
The scandal has embarrassed Norway’s monarchy and contributed to a fall in support, though it remains broadly popular.
It follows earlier revelations of Mette-Marit’s friendship with the late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Høiby recently asked to be released from custody pending the verdict to be with his mother after her health worsened, but the request was denied.
Mette-Marit, 52, suffers from an incurable lung disease that causes breathing difficulties and was recently placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant.